Honoring the Legacy of Rev. Sylvester Tee Turner

We at Initiatives of Change USA mourn the sudden loss yet celebrate the enduring legacy and imprint of the life of Rev. Sylvester Tee Turner. Rev. Tee taught and embodied both history and possibility. Rev. Tee remained authentic to his faith in God, the truth of history, those he loved, and to what he lovingly called “the work.” Rev. Tee was a believer in healing and that a new world was possible. He believed that so much that he challenged and pastored us to dare to become the people, structures, institutions, and society that could dismantle the system that currently is and that could carry and sustain the just system to come. Rev. Tee walked in authenticity, and that authenticity gave permission to so much in our city to face enduring legacies of slavery and racism, and the audacity to believe that those impacted by history could also impact it in the way of freedom and healing together.

His impact and imprint from Hope in The Cities, Community Trustbuilding Fellowship, Richmond’s Trail of the Enslaved, the Reconciliation Statue, and the UNESCO Collective Healing Circles program marks ripples across our hearts, our city, our commonwealth, our nation, and our world. We know Rev Tee’s spirit remains in the circle of racial healing with us, though now in a higher plane. We invite those who have been impacted by the life of Rev Tee to join us on a virtual commemorative call on January 26th at 8pm EST. Click the button below to access the zoom link.

Please read The Richmonder’s article on the life and legacy of Rev Tee where it features reflections from IofC USA Executive Director Allan-Charles Chipman and HR Director Ladora Carter.

Also, please see a compilation of tributes organized by Rev Tee’s dear friend and collaborator Rob Corcoran.

We invite you to take a moment to read, reflect on both of these articles, and join us in honoring the extraordinary life and legacy of Rev. Tee.